Top US Democrat Calls Chip Restrictions Key to Maintaining AI Edge Over China

Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said restrictions on advanced chips are Washington's main means of prolonging America's frontier AI lead over China. Himes said the United States cannot retain that lead indefinitely. However, Himes argued that the United States should preserve the advantage for as long as possible by slowing the spread of advanced chips into China.

Himes spoke at a Brookings event in Washington two weeks before the US midterm elections. Himes belongs to the "Gang of Eight", a bipartisan group of congressional leaders who receive classified national security briefings. Recent polls suggest Democrats could regain control of Congress in next month's elections. A Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday put Democrats ahead of Republicans, 47% to 35%, on the generic ballot. The generic ballot asks respondents which party would receive their vote if congressional elections took place today.

Wednesday's event, "AI on the ballot: Data centres and the 2026 midterms", examined local resistance to data centres and the worldwide expansion of AI infrastructure. An expert panel also considered how chip constraints could affect AI competition between the United States and China. Brookings Institution fellow Kyle Chan said a major uncertainty is whether China can manufacture enough chips both for domestic AI demand and for competition abroad. Chan said the United States is not competing with China over overseas AI data centre construction in the near term because China's chip production capacity is constrained.

However, Chan said several companies in China are preparing for wider international expansion over the medium to long term, including overseas cloud and AI services. Chan said increased chip production could enable companies in China to offer packages combining models, hardware and possibly energy. Chan compared that possibility to an AI version of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chan said the United States faces an energy bottleneck, whereas China faces a chip bottleneck. Chan said US data centres face difficulties obtaining grid connections and additional electricity for facilities and chips. Chan said China frequently complains of insufficient computing capacity and chips. Chan said China treats computing capacity as national infrastructure and has worked hard to expand data centre capacity.

Himes also addressed allegations that foreign adversaries were intensifying opposition to US data centres. Data centres have become increasingly controversial as US communities consider whether to accept nearby facilities. Himes said numerous allegations accuse China and two or three others of spreading inflammatory material about data centres, but Himes did not know whether the allegations were true. US President Donald Trump also attributed a substantial share of community opposition to China in an August interview with Fox News.